Allsec Technologies plans IPO to raise Rs 60 crore

Allsec Technologies Ltd, hopes to emerge the first voice-based BPO company ever to be listed on the Indian bourses. It is planning to tap raise over Rs 60 crore through the capital markets with an initial public offer (IPO) scheduled for April this year.

The Chennai-based company intends to list on both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, after the IPO, and intends to use the proceeds for its expansion and acquisition activities, which include increasing seat capacity to 1,700.

Allsec has already filed a Red Herring Prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India and appointed IL&FS and Kotak Mahindra as book-running lead managers of the issue.

A final clearance is awaited from SEBI, along with certain regulatory and other statutory approvals which are also awaited, on receipt of which the dates for the IPO would be fixed.

According to Adi Saravanan, president, Allsec Technologies, "We tender 26.25 per cent of the total equity, comprising 31.41 lakh shares of the company, while 1.49 lakh equity shares have been reserved for our employees, through the IPO."

Of the balance, 50 per cent has been reserved for 'qualified institutional buyers' (QIB), 25 per cent for non-institutional investors and the remaining 25 per cent for retail investors, he said.

Two promoters of the company — Saravanan and R Jagadish, Allsec's CEO and director — hold around 46.4 per cent stake in the company, while London-based venture capitalist Euronet Ventures and Mumbai-based Kotak Mahindra Venture Capital hold 24.4 per cent and 19.1 per cent equity, respectively, in the company.

The US-based CompuCredit, a client company, holds the remaining 7.8 per cent stake.

The promoters' (Saravanan and Jagadish) stake in the company would fall to around 34 per cent, after the IPO, as other investors are not offloading their stake, Saravanan said.

Allsec Technologies intends to use the proceeds (the company expects to rake in around Rs 60 crore) for its expansion and acquisition activities.

The company, which has three centres in Chennai with over 700 seats, is planning to use part of the proceeds to increase its number of seats to 1,700, and has plans to set up another call centre in Mumbai.

"We propose to increase the number of seats to 1,700 in the next six month's time, banking on an expected rise in business from both existing clients and new clients," said Saravanan.

Apart from US-based Compu Credit, Allsec has 10 other clients, including Ford Motor Company and certain Fortune 500 firms.

The company expects new clients from banking, financial services and insurance, and from technical and quality assurance verticals.

A decision on the setting up of a new call centre, is, however, yet to be taken.

The company is also planning to embark on an acquisition spree and is looking at buying out companies with similar operations both in US and UK. However, a potential company is yet to be identified, which would be done only after the IPO, Saravanan said.

In the non-voice BPO segment, Datamatics Technologies Ltd, a non-voice business process outsourcing firm, focusing on transaction processing and content management, had tapped the capital markets with its IPO in April last year.